Manchester City are currently preparing to play Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on Saturday.
The contest at Wembley is huge for both clubs as Crystal Palace have never won the competition, while Man City need to salvage their season as Pep Guardiola’s men have experienced a very underwhelming campaign, which has left them fighting for a place in next season’s Champions League.
Sam Allardyce believes Man City have an advantage over Crystal Palace heading into the FA Cup final, as the former Premier League boss thinks the Manchester club’s experience in big games could get them over the line.
Erling Haaland is one of many City stars who have not been at their best this season, and the Norwegian star is aware that his team have to win the FA Cup in order to get something out of a campaign in which the Manchester club “haven’t done good enough”.
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Erling Haaland has not had fun this season at Man City
Haaland has not reached the heights of his previous two seasons in Manchester throughout the current campaign, which was made worse by the injury the Man City star suffered at the end of March.
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It was always Haaland’s plan to play in the FA Cup final and ahead of the Wembley showpiece, the striker has admitted that this season cannot be considered a success for City, while the campaign has not been fun and boring in his eyes.
“We haven’t done good enough in the league. When you have won four league titles in a row, if you don’t win five, it’s not going to be a successful season,” Haaland told BBC Sport.
“Those are the standards the club have set over the last couple of years. They can thank themselves for hopefully getting the Champions League spot, and winning the FA Cup is not a successful season. That is just how it is.
“This season has been tough. It is not nice to lose so many games, it is boring and not fun. That’s why we need to finish well and get a trophy.”
That will be a tough task this weekend, given the form of Crystal Palace, with Jamie Carragher predicting Man City to lose to the Eagles at Wembley.
Haaland is also aware of the threat Oliver Glasner’s men pose and is looking forward to playing in the FA Cup final for the third year in a row.
Erling Haaland on the FA Cup final
Despite the underwhelming season Man City have experienced, Haaland has been impressed with his team’s ability to still reach the FA Cup final, which he believes says it all about the Manchester club.
“It is a good habit to reach Wembley and always important to win trophies. We have the FA Cup final to play for, and in a horrific season, we still managed to do this; that says it all,” Haaland told BBC Sport.
The Norwegian would also praise Crystal Palace, stating: “Crystal Palace are a really difficult club to play against. At Selhurst Park, we drew [2-2 in December], and they started really well at the Etihad [in City’s 5-2 win last month]. They are an amazing team with quality players.”
Haaland did not take part in the 5-2 thriller against Crystal Palace last month, but the striker knows Man City cannot fall two goals behind again on Saturday, as this time, it would be very difficult to overturn.
For the neutral, the FA Cup final looks set to be a thrilling affair, and if City do not bring the cup back home to Manchester, it will be interesting to see how it affects the remainder of their campaign.